Volume 65, Issue 11_12,
December 2006

Extracted from text ... mnassa vol 65 nos 11 & 12 230
deepsky delights
I have always been fascinated by the long, outstretched summer constellation Eridanus, the longest of the 88 constellations. Erastosthenes and Hyginus said that it represents the river Nile. It is the only great starry river that flows from south to north and is divided into a northern and southern stream. Except for the brilliant 0.53 magnitude "Achernar", the ninth brightest star in the sky, this constellation has no stars brighter than magnitude 3. Follow the southern stream from Achernar to the east and it is easy to pretend ..